This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Windows 10 for Windows XP Users
Techie types might find it hard to believe, but there are tens of millions of people and companies still using Windows XP, more than 15 years after its initial release—and several years since Microsoft quit officially supporting it. That loss of support is reason enough to upgrade from XP to Windows 10, and you’ll gain a lot of functionality by moving to a more modern operating system.
The challenge with upgrading a computer directly from Windows XP to Windows 10 is that you’re moving from a 15-year-old operating system to a brand-new state-of-the-art one. If you’re using a computer that’s as old as the operating system, it may not be able to run Windows 10 at all; certainly, you’re likely to run into some compatibility issues with older peripherals and software programs.
In addition, the upgrade itself won’t be easy. You can’t just upgrade the operating system; you have to wipe your computer’s hard disk completely clean and then install Windows 10 fresh on top of that. (This is called a clean install.) You’ll lose all your files and programs and settings, so you’ll want to back up your files first and then restore them after you install Windows 10. You’ll need to reinstall all your software programs from scratch, as well.
For these reasons, it’s difficult to recommend upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 10, even with all the benefits that might come from such a move. A better approach is to ditch your older computer (or give it to one of your children or grandchildren) and buy a new computer with Windows 10 already installed. New computers are a lot less expensive than they were a decade ago, and getting a new PC up and running will take a lot less time and effort than trying to upgrade a Windows XP machine to Windows 10.
